Belarus leader Lukashenko wins fifth term in landslide

Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term as president of Belarus by a landslide Sunday, and warned the opposition against protests that could derail the lifting of Western sanctions imposed over rights abuse allegations.

12.10.2015

(AFP) Alexander Lukashenko won a fifth term as president of Belarus by a
landslide Sunday, and warned the opposition against protests that could
derail the lifting of Western sanctions imposed over rights abuse
allegations.

With long-standing opposition figures barred from standing in
Sunday's vote and state media giving Lukashenko uniformly positive
coverage, the veteran leader ran against three virtual unknowns -- only
one of whom campaigned.

Lukashenko took 83.49 percent of the vote, election chief Lidiya
Yermoshina said, with his nearest rival Tatiana Korotkevich mustering
just 4.42 percent of the ballot.

The result, though preliminary, is the highest ever for Lukashenko
whose government made a huge effort to ensure a high turnout of over 86
percent.

The process was closely watched by the European Union, with officials
indicating the bloc was ready to lift sanctions against the
authoritarian leader, who is regularly accused of human rights
violations, if the aftermath of the polls remained incident-free.

While Lukashenko allowed an unauthorised opposition rally in the
capital to go ahead without police intervention on Saturday, he warned
that he would not tolerate such protests after the vote.

"The polls close at 8:00 pm and I advise you to follow the law," he said. "You know what will happen."

A shrewd operator and exploiter of tensions between Moscow and the
West, Lukashenko recently raised his standing with the EU by hosting
peace talks in Minsk on the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Despite at times prickly relations with Moscow, he and Belarus's
Soviet-style planned economy are propped up by Russia, which supplies
the country of 9.5 million with discount price energy.

'Soft dictatorship'

Europe's longest-serving leader had earlier ridiculed runner-up
Korotkevich, saying she could not handle ruling a country because she is
a woman.

"The president here has masses of powers, from security to the
economy, that so far a person in a skirt cannot carry out," he said.

Lukashenko, 61, was once called Europe's last dictator by Washington,
and now has the mandate to extend his 21-year grip on the landlocked
eastern European country.

The last elections in 2010 led to mass street protests against his
victory, triggering a crackdown during which a number of leading
opposition figures were arrested.

Lukashenko's subsequent incarceration of his opponents led to his
international isolation and the imposition of Western sanctions against
him.

That could now change. A mooted EU move to suspend the punitive
measures, also following the surprise release in August of the country's
last political prisoners, has sparked an outcry from Belarussian
opposition figures who have waged a long campaign against
authoritarianism.

An EU diplomat said Friday the bloc would monitor the vote to see if it was held in an "acceptable climate."

"That means, if there are no new arrests of opposition figures, if
there is no violence and no attacks against the press," said the
diplomat, who asked not to be named.

But opposition leader Mikola Statkevich -- who was pardoned in August
after spending five years in jail -- told AFP: "If they are together
with this murderer, this criminal, then democracy is just words."

On the eve of the election, the newly crowned winner of the 2015
Nobel Literature Prize, Svetlana Alexievich, warned Europe to beware of
Lukashenko, describing his regime as a "soft dictatorship."

Lukashenko had the lowest result in the capital Minsk where 65.58
percent of voters backed him, while in a striking figure, 20.6 percent
in Minsk voted against all candidates, the most popular option for those
who opposed the long-serving leader.

Hosting peace talks

Lukashenko is believed to be grooming his son Nikolai, known as
Kolya, as his successor. The 11-year-old, who regularly accompanies the
president at official engagements, cast his father's ballot for him at a
polling station near their home in Minsk.

The Belarussian leader enjoys a degree of popular support for his folksy, outspoken style and his regime's durability.

Liudmila Vauchok, a six-time Paralympic medallist in cross-country
skiing and rowing, said she voted for Lukashenko because he brought
"reliability and calm."

"Whatever happens, Belarus is flourishing," Vauchok told AFP. "Our
system is established. I wouldn't like to be in the president's place as
things are very complicated now. The main thing is for there not to be a
war."

Some voters voiced cautious opposition, however.

"I am voting against everyone," said Tatiana, a jeweller. "I have
nothing against Batka but I wanted someone younger," she said, using
Lukashenko's nickname, meaning father.